Internet.org can co-exist with net neutrality : Mark Zuckerberg

NEW DELHI: Amid raging debate over net neutrality in India, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that net neutrality was important to make sure that network operators do not discriminate and limit access to services people want to use, especially in countries where most people are online.

In a Q&A session hosted on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook profile page, he said: “When we talk about connecting the world, most people talk about the clear benefits to all the people who will get internet access and don’t have it today. Those benefits are many: access to education, health information, jobs and so on. Many people estimate that for every billion people we connect, we’ll raise more than 100 million out of poverty.”

However, Zuckerberg believes that for people who are not on the Internet, having some connectivity and some ability to share is always much better than having no ability to connect and share at all.

Zuckerberg believes that programs like Internet.org are important and can co-exist with net neutrality regulations.

“One thing that we often overlook in this discussion is how everyone who is already connected will benefit from having everyone online. Think about how many brilliant entrepreneurs there are out there who have great ideas and the will to change the world, but just lack basic tools to do so today. If you go by the population, almost 2/3 of these entrepreneurs don’t have Internet access today. Once they get connected, we may have 3x as many good ideas and amazing new services built that will benefit everyone around the world.”